Chapter 50

The pain in my abdomen intensified, even though I knew the alien medical experts had administered a bleeding stopper and a local anaesthetic. My body felt heavy, and my eyes began to water from the unrelenting pain. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on long, slow breaths to calm myself down.

"It must just be a side effect," I muttered softly, trying to reassure myself even though my heart was full of fear.

However, the agitated voices of the medical team who came to deal with my condition made me even more uneasy. I could feel their haste as they reinstalled several monitoring devices and administered additional injections. Although they looked professional, I knew they were struggling to cope with something that might be more serious than what they appeared.

I bit my lip, trying to hold back my tears. It felt like my body was rebelling against everything that was happening, especially the traumatised feelings that were starting to surface in my mind. I've always had a fear of hospitals-or any medical place full of sophisticated equipment like this. But now, I had no choice but to give myself over to them.

"Be patient, Lana," I murmured aloud. "This baby has to survive. We both have to survive."

I'm naive, but I really hope my fears don't come true. I'm still trying to be optimistic that my baby will be fine despite the incident just now.

I don't want to look weak, even though my body feels very weak but I still don't want to whimper or anything, I'm more focused on thinking about the condition of my foetus now. It was so scary to imagine losing my foetus just like that.

After finishing with the examination and giving additional medicine, the medical team finally left the room. I remained lying on the bed, my body tired and my mind filled with anxiety. I stared blankly at the door, waiting for Zask to return with news of my foetus' condition.

A few minutes later, heavy footsteps sounded from outside. I knew it was Zask even before he opened the door. When he walked in, his face looked grim, and his normally calm expression had turned into something I couldn't understand between anger, disappointment, and exhaustion.

"Zask," I called softly, my voice barely audible.

He looked at me for a moment, but said nothing. His gaze seemed to trace every detail of my face, but not with its usual gentleness. There was something that made me feel anxious, something different from the Zask I knew.

If he continued like that it would make me even more scared, I wanted to hear the truth, even though at the same time I also didn't want to hear the truth if it was bad.

"What... what happened?" I asked, my voice shaking. "What's the condition of our foetus?"

Zask was still silent, standing at the end of my bed with his arms folded. He let out a long breath, as if trying to compose himself before answering my question. But every second he spent silent only made the anxiety in my chest grow.

"Zask, say something!" I cried, trying to control my emotions even though my body still felt weak. "I have to know what's going on. Please..."

Finally, he opened his mouth, but not in the tone I was expecting. "Lana," he said in a low, but stressful voice. "You're really incompetent at looking after your womb."

I was stunned, his words feeling like a slap in the face. "What?" I whispered, hardly believing what I had just heard.

"All of this happened because of your negligence," he continued, his voice getting louder. "You knew that this foetus was something precious, but you weren't careful. You even let yourself fall like that. Don't you care about this baby?"

I felt my entire body freeze. My tears started flowing without me being able to stop them, but I couldn't tell if it was because of the physical or emotional pain I was feeling.

"Zask... I... it's not my fault..." I whispered, my voice breaking amidst the crying. "I didn't want this, I loved that foetus so much because it was also my child, something was wrong, and I didn't want that."

He looked at me sharply, his eyes filled with an anger I had never seen before. "You can't take care of yourself, Lana. How can you take care of our baby?"

I didn't know what to say. His words pierced my heart like a dagger, shattering every shred of strength I had left. All this time, even though I often felt oppressed under his control, I always thought that he at least cared about me and this foetus. But now, I wasn't sure anymore.

My tears flowed even harder, and I turned my face away from him, unable to look into his accusatory eyes. I tried to take a deep breath, but my chest felt tight, as if the entire world was pressing down on me.

"I tried my best..." I muttered softly, almost as if talking to myself. "I tried to take care of this baby, but I'm not perfect, Zask. I don't know what to do..."

However, he did not respond. The silence that followed after my words was even more painful than the snapping before.

Moments later, I heard the sound of his footsteps moving away, but I didn't dare turn my head to watch him leave. I remained lying there, my tears continuing to flow as the pain in my stomach intensified.

Between my cries, I wondered if I really had failed. Was I really as incompetent at looking after this baby as he said? Or was this just her way of channelling her frustration?

In my heart, I knew that I loved this baby. But love alone was not enough to protect her, especially in a world full of violence and manipulation like this.

I wiped away my tears with the back of my hand, trying to brace myself. Although I felt devastated, I knew that I couldn't give up now. This foetus needed me, and I had to find a way to protect it, even if that meant I had to continue being with Zask again.